What It Takes To Get On The Men's Health Cover!

We’ve never had a reader on our cover before and we’ve always wondered who would fit the ideal of the reallife MVPs of the men’s health world. Ideally, he should be passionate about fitness and relatable to the Singaporean guy. But he should also recognise that like everyone else, he’s a work-in-progress and know what he has to do to better himself. After an exhaustive search with hundreds of entries, we found our man.

- Gilbert Wong

Despite how difficult it can be to find a balance between career and fitness, the freelance personal trainer has the constant drive to push himself, and others as well. At times, it certainly is about building a physique he can be proud of, but that’s just one part of his fitness journey and growth. In our interactions with Syafiq, who turns 31 this year, his passion and devotion to fitness and sharing it with others was evident.

So, what is it like in a day in the life of our MH Cover Guy 2018 winner? We take a closer look at what he does and what it takes to persevere through the daily grind, to get out there and prove himself in the rigours of competition while facing both success and failure, and how he manages to keep going when he’s out of his comfort zone and juggling other aspects of his career.

THE GRIND

Getting into phenomenal shape takes work, and while lots of people say that getting your dream body boils down to your diet and nutrition, you really can’t ignore the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that’s put into lifting some serious iron in the gym.

For Syafiq, lifting weights is not just a pastime or a hobby; it’s a lifestyle that has shaped how he is for many years. From working hard to improve his sprint timing back in school, to sculpting a muscular physique, putting in a serious shift at the gym is just part and parcel of his daily routine.

“I train a minimum of five times a week for about an hour and a half per session,” he recounts. However, he goes even further on leg day. “[Training] could go up to two hours.”